Obsolte/Forgotten Procedures
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,146
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From: Colorado
I have really gotten a kick out of all this nostalgia!!! Brings back so many good, and some not so good memories!
As for the car swamp coolers, I remember the one we had in the 50's, kind of looked like a little JATO bottle hanging off the drip rail of the car! Thats something nobody has mentioned, DRIP RAILS!!! I miss them so. Along with wing vents........
How about the old canister type oil filters? Remember having to make sure the old gasket had to be removed, else you had quite a mess on your hands, and floor?
As for the car swamp coolers, I remember the one we had in the 50's, kind of looked like a little JATO bottle hanging off the drip rail of the car! Thats something nobody has mentioned, DRIP RAILS!!! I miss them so. Along with wing vents........
How about the old canister type oil filters? Remember having to make sure the old gasket had to be removed, else you had quite a mess on your hands, and floor?
Last edited by rikfish; May 20, 2004 at 11:59 PM.
Gone but not forgotten.
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 6,521
Likes: 2
Today while still cleaning up the garage, I found three of those wooden alignment tools for installing a clutch. Being a packrat, I will probably keep them though I plan never to install another clutch.
Dono
Dono
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,940
Likes: 2
From: Eastern WA
Suicide doors, changing points and setting dwell angle, single speed windshield wipers, breaking your arm when starting a model T and it backfired because you didn't know how to correctly grab onto the crank, engaging the starter by pushing a button on the floor with your foot, free maps at gas stations to name a few.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 755
Likes: 0
From: Meriden Ct
1956MarkII
You musta been from the GOOD side of town. All our early cars didn't HAVE radios. Mom & Dads first car (59 VW) it wasnt even an option. Great car it would run forever if you could get past the little problems
No gas gauge (reserve lever)
No heat/def fan (air flow only when the car was moving)
No heat period.... well OK it had heat...... but only in the summer
Everytime you went through A puddle your feet got wet
Brakes worked good...... if you didnt really need to stop
They dont accelerate....they just acculate speed
Speedometers usually broke on the way home from buying the car.
not that you could speed anyway.
Odometer still worked though
You musta been from the GOOD side of town. All our early cars didn't HAVE radios. Mom & Dads first car (59 VW) it wasnt even an option. Great car it would run forever if you could get past the little problems
No gas gauge (reserve lever)
No heat/def fan (air flow only when the car was moving)
No heat period.... well OK it had heat...... but only in the summer
Everytime you went through A puddle your feet got wet
Brakes worked good...... if you didnt really need to stop
They dont accelerate....they just acculate speed
Speedometers usually broke on the way home from buying the car.
not that you could speed anyway.
Odometer still worked though
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,746
Likes: 7
From: Tampa Bay, FL USA
Originally Posted by Bordaine
1956MarkII...Mom & Dads first car (59 VW)...Great car it would run forever if you could get past the little problems...
I haven't owned an import vehicle since.............
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 626
Likes: 0
From: N Ga. Mountains
Pouring ATF in the carb while the engine is running to clean the cylinder walls and act as a top lube. Smokes like crazy. I don't know if it worked but I've seen it done.
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Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 12,170
Likes: 5
From: The hills of No. Calif.
Vin 95 said, positive ground systems, yeah I remember...taking that one step further, 6-volt positive ground systems, and 8-volt batteries if you wanted more juice for starting but didn't want to go whole hog and convert over to 12-volt. My '60 Sunbeam Alpine came with pos. ground, when I was a kid I screwed up I don't know how many tape decks trying to install them isolated since they were designed for neg. ground only. When I finally converted I had to re-polarize the gen. And what about 8-track tape players, 4-track tape players, and under-dash 45 rpm record players?
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 755
Likes: 0
From: Meriden Ct
Originally Posted by 1956MarkII
My very first car was the one you just mentioned. Without a doubt, the worst piece of mechanical crap I've ever owned, car or otherwise. How people can get all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic over those things is beyond me. It took GM to show the Germans how to build a rear-engined, air-cooled car for the masses, ESPECIALLY one with a heater and defroster. Check out my gallery if you don't know what I'm talking about.
I haven't owned an import vehicle since.............
I haven't owned an import vehicle since.............
Gone but not forgotten.
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 6,521
Likes: 2
Originally Posted by Vin 95
Recapping tires.And does anybody remember paper wrapped wiring and POSITIVE ground systems?
Re the no gas gauge on the old VW, most people that had one would forget to reset the handle at least once, and run out of gas.
Dono
Gone but not forgotten.
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 6,521
Likes: 2
Quote: "Check out my gallery if you don't know what I'm talking about."
Jeff - we usually agree, but must differ here. With the exception of the Model T, the bug was the most successful car ever built. The Corvair, in it's short lifespan, did have a problem with reliability and never were that popular. With the exception of the Spyder, they had little to offer (except maybe a good heater). None of the four bugs I owned (and abused) ever broke.
Dono
Jeff - we usually agree, but must differ here. With the exception of the Model T, the bug was the most successful car ever built. The Corvair, in it's short lifespan, did have a problem with reliability and never were that popular. With the exception of the Spyder, they had little to offer (except maybe a good heater). None of the four bugs I owned (and abused) ever broke.
Dono
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,237
Likes: 3
From: Belleville, Ontario
How about repairing rotted out floors with sheets of plywood.
Duct tape to patch a hole in a rad hose.
Remove the battery every night during the winter and taking it in the house.
Plug in the block heater and wrap an old moving blanket around the engine.
Panty hose for a spare fan belt.
Duct tape to patch a hole in a rad hose.
Remove the battery every night during the winter and taking it in the house.
Plug in the block heater and wrap an old moving blanket around the engine.
Panty hose for a spare fan belt.
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 145
Likes: 0
From: Woodland Hills, CA
Adjusting the throttle **** inside the car, hand-cranking your flathead if your battery died. Cooking food on a flathead's cylinder head. Dual water pumps. One barrel choke on a 2V carb.
